A tamper evidencing device is disclosed in our earlier international patent application published under number WO 2007/041798. The contents of this earlier application are incorporated herein by reference. The design comprises a strip of fabric with a buckle or loop at one end, with the free end able to be inserted through the loop or buckle to tighten the strip around the article to be protected. The free end has an adhesive panel which may be adhered onto another portion of the strip. Its removal or attempted removal is evidenced by the strip. Also, the buckle or loop was able to be released from the strip and the strip bore evidence that this had occurred. The design of this tamper evidencing device suffered from a number of disadvantages.
The old design was made from TYVEK® which was reinforced at each of its edges by a sewn heavy gauge nylon thread. If either thread failed when loaded, the strip would likely fail and snap. Also, if the strip was exposed to weight or a tearing force in any other area not covered by the nylon threads (e.g. the centre of the strip), this would cause localised tearing and material failure. This affected the reliability, security and appearance of the device.
The old design also relied heavily upon intricate sewing details and thus was inefficient to produce and resulted in high defect rates.
The old design had numerous longitudinal slots to receive cross bands which, when subjected to stress, caused the TYVEK® fabric surrounding the holes to tear and distort, weakening the material and providing potentially false indications of tampering.
The old design was made to encircle luggage and provide tamper indication of someone fully accessing the luggage. There was no provision to extend tamper indication to zipped pockets and compartments or other lockable areas on freight/luggage articles.
In the old design, the adhesive panel bonded to TYVEK® only. The resulting bond was excellent in peel strength as intended with the result that it would ‘peel’ one layer of TYVEK® from another when an attempt was made to remove the adhesive panel. However, due to the multiple layer/random grain nature of the TYVEK® fabric, it delaminated unintentionally during use when subject to any substantial ‘pulling’ force (as might be expected from baggage handlers). Consequently, it was classed as having poor ‘shear’ strength in use which failed when subjected to high loads.
The buckle release system involved the TYVEK® strip wrapped around a plastic buckle component and then sewn onto itself to seal the plastic buckle component to the TYVEK® strip. The TYVEK® strip would detach along a perforated line, tearing when subjected to a pulling force. However, testing produced inconsistent results.
It is an object of the present invention to provide: a security system; tamper evidencing device; elongate strip for a tamper evidencing device; or a buckle which addresses at least one of the abovementioned disadvantages. Another object of the present invention is to provide a buckle for guiding an elongate strip about an article. An alternative object of the invention is to provide the public with the useful choice over known products.
Reference to any prior art in the specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that this prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in Australia or any other jurisdiction or that this prior art could reasonably be expected to be ascertained, understood and regarded as relevant by a person skilled in the art.